


No Turning Back

by StrategicDilemma



Series: Bederia Week 2020 [7]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alcohol, Angst, Drinking, F/M, Fights, Future Fic, Goodbyes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:42:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22948756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrategicDilemma/pseuds/StrategicDilemma
Summary: “I’m stepping down from my role as Champion.”Rating T for drinking/alcohol.Bederia Week Day 7: Open Prompt
Relationships: Beet | Bede/Yuuri | Gloria
Series: Bederia Week 2020 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1642540
Comments: 7
Kudos: 59





	No Turning Back

**Author's Note:**

> GOD IT'S FINALLY OVER
> 
> I BEAT BEDERIA WEEK
> 
> Writing this sort of stuff is cathartic, I needed it after a week of nothing but fluff.

“I’m stepping down from my role as Champion.”

Bede had witnessed the uproar at Gloria’s announcement, standing off to the side at her press conference. News reporters stood from their chairs, yelling questions at her as flashes of cameras blinded everyone. Security guards formed a wall in front of the stage, urging everyone to sit down. Gloria held her head high at the podium, but from his angle, Bede could see her hiding her shaking hands from view.

Once everyone had mostly settled down, Gloria continued, reading from her notes.

“I’ve been offered a five-year residency in Hoenn’s Elite Four, and after many months of consideration, I have decided to accept. As much as I’ve loved being Champion in Galar’s League, it would not be fair to hold my title when I will be absent for five seasons, and so I have decided to officially retire.”

The questions came pouring in, and Gloria did her best to answer them all. All their words were lost on Bede’s ears, muffled as his stomach churned and his heart pounded in his ears. He felt faint, leaning on the wall as his head spun. The air was suddenly too heavy, Bede struggling to breathe, and even Gloria’s gentle voice felt like a stadium was roaring between his ears.

Standing upright, Bede made his way for the exit, not even bothering to be quiet as he shoved open the door and let it slam behind him.

\----

“ _Gloriaaaaaaa!!!!_ ” Hop cried, holding her tightly in his arms. “You can’t just _leave_ us!!!!”

Gloria sympathetically patted his back while Marnie and Bede shared a look. The four were standing outside a restaurant in Hammerlocke, Gloria having invited them all to meet for lunch. She had been the last to arrive, coming all the way from Wyndon, and Hop had immediately broken down upon seeing her.

“Hop, mate, you’re gonna crush her spine like that,” Marnie warned, resting her hand on Hop’s shoulder. Reluctantly, he pulled away, wiping at his running nose and rubbing his eyes with his sleeve.

“Right, sorry,” he sniffled, and Bede rolled his eyes as both Marnie and Gloria consoled him. A waitress of the restaurant was watching them through the window, much to his embarrassment, but he’d rather wait for Hop to calm down than go to eat with Hop being a sobbing mess.

It took a few minutes, but finally Hop calmed down enough for the four to walk in and grab a booth. Bede immediately ordered a bottle of red wine for the table, knowing that he did _not_ want to be sober for whatever this lunch had in store for them.

Marnie turned to Gloria, sitting next to her in the booth. “Big announcement you made the other day, huh? Excited f’you, but I’m wonderin’ where that came from.”

Bede popped the cork out of the bottle, pouring himself a glass. To his surprise, Hop slid his glass over for him to fill. _At least we agree on something_ , Bede thought to himself as he filled Hop’s as well, amused when Hop took a large gulp and winced at the taste.

“Well,” Gloria started, the girls not taking notice of the boys drinking across from them, “when I visited Hoenn last year, I got to stay for a while in Ever Grande City and meet the Elite Four.” She rested her elbows on the table. “And when I was there, I met Steven Stone, who is genuinely _such_ a nice guy. He took me on a whole tour and everything, and I was completely starstruck. I almost broke one of the statues in his room, but luckily he was really cool about it.”

Bede snickered behind his drink quietly, but no one else noticed.

“Anyway,” Gloria continued, resting her arms of the table, “Steven also told me that he would be taking a leave as Champion while he was working on some big research project over in Unova. Drake will be taking over while he’s gone, but they need someone to take _his_ place in the Elite Four.” She shook her head. “I said ‘no,’ at first, but he asked me again a couple months later, and I said I would think about it.”

Hop chugged the rest of his wine and passed his glass to Bede, who happily refilled it.

“Must’ve wanted you a whole lot t’keep askin’, huh?” Marnie nodded with a small smile.

“But why didn’t you _tell_ us?” Hop interjected. “Did you know how _awful_ it felt to hear it for the first time on TV??”

Gloria frowned sadly. “I’m so sorry, Hop, I really am. Things just moved so quickly, and I didn’t have time to tell anyone.”

“You could’ve _called_ ,” Hop grumbled, sinking into his chair. “I’m so _happy_ for you, but I wish you had told us before.”

“I know, you’re right. At least I’ll have a few weeks to make it up to you,” Gloria replied, and that seemed to lighten his mood.

The rest of their lunch went on a bit more smoothly, with Hop and Marnie asking questions about what Gloria’s life would be in Hoenn, like how she was going to handle its subtropical weather and whether she was going to keep her current team or change it up once she got to Hoenn.

Eventually, Marnie must have taken note of Bede’s silent drinking, as she nudged his leg under the table with shoe.

“Bein’ pretty quiet over there,” she said, drawing the table’s attention to Bede. “Don’t you usually have big thoughts on stuff like this?”

Bede looked around the table, topping off his glass with more wine. Lifting the glass in his hand, he finally made eye contact with Gloria across the table. “I have nothing to say,” he remarked, bringing the glass to his lips. “Gloria’s going to do _whatever_ she wants, and I’d rather not waste my words.”

Hop and Marnie didn’t seem too bothered by his remark, but Gloria’s eyebrows pinched together, giving him a troubled look. Bede simply arched an eyebrow and took a sip of the wine.

\----

The weeks leading up to Gloria’s departure were exciting and eventful, with extensive news coverage and a large going-away party, and Bede made it his top priority to avoid _all_ of it. The televisions remained off inside the Gym and Bede refused to answer any calls from Gloria. When the other Gym Leaders called him, asking if he was going to her party, he kept his answer to a short “no” and hung up immediately, not interested in explaining himself.

It would have been easier if Gloria had just silently left Galar; the fact that it was a big event was unbearable.

As much as he tried to avoid everything, he unfortunately was privy to the day that Gloria officially left for Hoenn. As the day grew closer, he found himself sleeping less soundly, waking up in the middle of the night for hours at a time. He passed the time by walking around Glimwood Tangle and Ballonlea, trying to keep his mind off Gloria and what things would be like without her around.

The day before Gloria left, Bede groggily woke up to a text from Marnie:

_last day, u should say somethin_

With a huff, he deleted it, pulling the sheets over his head.

He had a headache the whole day as he tried to distract himself. He left his Rotom phone up in his room, ignoring any messages or calls. Originally, he thought about spending the whole day training, throwing everything into battling, but the thought of it made his stomach churn. In reality, he wanted to wallow in his own self-pity, but his pride was getting in the way.

He ended up climbing up one of the taller mushrooms in Ballonlea with a few books, the great view of the town being his backdrop. This plan worked for the most part. The books provided ample distraction and even when he grew tired of reading them, watching the people and Pokemon go about their lives filled him with a peaceful serenity.

It was ruined when a Flying Taxi touched down in Ballonlea in the early evening, Gloria stepping out of its passenger car. Her gaze almost immediately fell on Bede, looking up at him as he sat on the edge of the mushroom cap.

With a snarl, Bede hopped down, leaving his books behind as he turned and stomped into Glimwood Tangle.

Gloria must have had to settle things with her cabbie, as Bede didn’t hear the sound of her approaching footsteps for nearly a full minute. Inevitably, she began calling after him.

“Bede! _”_

Bede ignored her, picking up his own pace as he pushed through the underbrush of Glimwood.

“Bede, _please_ , just talk to me!”

“Don’t you have a _trip_ to be packing for?” Bede replied without slowing down.

“Are you really just _avoid_ me the whole time?!”

“It’s been working out _great_ for me.”

She broke into a sprint behind him, finally catching up and clamping her hands on his arm. He tried to pull his arm back, but she held on tight. Her eyes were wide, pleading with him.

“If you want to yell at me,” she told him, “go ahead, and I’ll listen.”

“Let go of me.”

“I know you’re mad, just tell me why!”

“I said _let go_.”

“Come on, just _do it_ , Bede!”

“ _Gloria,_ I’m warn—”

“ _I am not going to a new region without talking to you first!”_

“Oh really?!” Bede snapped, glaring at her. “You had no problem not talking to me before!” He ripped his arm out of her grasp finally, but he stood there, his arms shaking as he clenched his fists. “You had no problem just _deciding_ these big things without saying a _word_ to anyone! You didn’t speak to Hop, to Marnie, to _me_ , no one _!_ ”

“What was I supposed to do?” Gloria begged. “Was I just supposed to turn down an opportunity that presented itself _twice_ to me?!”

“I would have _worked something out with you!_ ” Bede’s hands pressed against his chest. “We could have _talked_ , you could have _warned me_ , you could have done _anything_ else besides _invite_ me to the press conference where you told _everyone!_ ”

“I know, _I know!_ ” Gloria’s hands gripped at her hair, tears prickling at her eyes. “I messed up! I panicked, I didn’t know what you would say or what you would do, so I didn’t tell you! I didn’t tell anyone! I didn’t want to _hurt_ you!”

“Well, _look_ _at me, Gloria_!” Bede shouted, his own eyes stinging as tears began to form. “What do you think is happening now?! Do you think your plan worked?!”

“ _I’m_ _sorry!”_ she screamed, tears finally falling down her cheeks and staining the forest floor. “I tried to make it up to you, I tried to _fix it_! But you didn’t answer _any of my calls_ , I haven’t even _seen_ you in weeks!” Her voice broke with a sob as she uselessly tried to wipe the tears off her face. “And now I’m _leaving_ , you _hate_ me, and I can’t do _anything anymore!!!_ ”

A knot throbbed in Bede’s throat as he grabbed her, pulling her into his chest and squeezing her tightly. Her arms immediately wrapped around him, fingers clawing at his shirt as he cried into his chest. Bede buried his face in her neck, smothering himself as his own tears stained the collar of her shirt. He could feel Gloria scratching his back through his clothes, but his own grip on her was tight enough that he might be bruising her.

Pulling away no more than necessary, one of Bede’s hands gripped Gloria’s cheek and pulled her into a desperate kiss. Her lips were salty, and her nails dug further into his back as she kissed him just as ferociously. He didn’t know which tears were hers and which were his, but he didn’t care. He didn’t want to breathe, he just wanted to feel her against him. He wanted to dig his feet into the forest floor and hold her here forever, never leaving.

“I would have told you to stay,” he gasped against her mouth. “I would have told you not to leave me.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I'm sorry,” she chanted with a sob, and Bede sealed their lips together again.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Bederia Week 2020, y'all, I'm gonna go sleep for years
> 
> Tumblr: https://strategicdilemma.tumblr.com/  
> Bederia server: https://discord.gg/c4p2KVS  
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/stratsdilemma


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